Gaara's Hope
by SakuBloss
Summary: AU How would Gaara have turned out if he had met Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, and the rest of the Konoha gang when he was much younger? Please Read and find out! CHAP 2 UP!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Hey :-) Okay, so no I don't own the characters of Naruto…so sue me…no, no, wait…I mean _don't_ sue me…hahahmm…(nervous smile)

**A/N:** I hope that you all have as much fun reading this story as I had writing it :-)

**Summary:** How would Gaara's life have turned out if he had met the other characters of Naruto as a little boy?

**Speech - ""**

**Thoughts - _italics_**

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**Gaara's Hope**

**Chapter 1**

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He ran…

He ran for miles and miles…

He ran for what seemed like forever…

He ran through the burning hot and scorching sands of the Wind Country…

He ran through the hot and cold shifting temperatures of the River Country…

He ran into the deep, dark forests of the Fire Country…

He ran until his chest hurt and his lungs heaved with the simple effort of pulling air into them…

He was tired…he was so tired…and hungry…it had been five days and five nights since he had last eaten…five days since he had left that place full of lies, deceit, betrayal, and…death.

He had had no choice but to leave…to get as far away from that place as possible…they wanted him dead…and even now he was sure that they were pursuing him…hunting him…watching his every move…he had to keep moving…he had to keep running…but how many more days and nights could he keep on going like this…he needed to stop and rest…he needed food and water…his little six-year-old body couldn't keep going like this indefinitely…many adults would have found this desperate race across sand, water, and forest a very physically and emotionally draining experience…and here he was…barely six-years-old, and being forced into doing it.

The strain of trying to keep up the fast pace that he had set at the start of the day finally caught up with him though…

So Gaara stopped and caught his breath.

He leaned back, and rested his little body up against a tree that towered beside him in the gloomy darkness of the forest, breathing hard, and trying to catch his breath.

I can't keep going like this…(pant, pant)…I'm too tired…(sigh)…oh Kaasan…you didn't really hate me did you?…Jisan Yashamaru was lying to me, right…right?…he…(sob)…lied…it's not true…you could never hate me…you were my Kaasan…all Kaasans are supposed to love their children right?…oh please Kaasan…please tell me that it's all just a big lie…please…why won't you answer me…Kaasan?…Kaasan?…KAASAN!

Gaara grabbed his head in pain as the only image that he had of his Kaasan, the little photo in the picture frame back at his old home, flashed across his mind's eye.

"No…no!…I won't believe that it's true!" Gaara exclaimed as he wiped tears from his eyes and his face.

"My Kaasan loved me…she did…I know that she did…I won't believe anything else…I WON'T!" Gaara shouted in defiance to the uncaring sky.

"I won't" Gaara said again, quietly this time as he dried the remaining tears from his eyes.

Slowly pushing himself off and away from the tree, Gaara continued his long and lonely trek through the forest.

An hour later cold, hungry, and tired beyond belief, Gaara came upon a small river that sparkled as the moons cosmic rays dusted across it's smooth surface.

Dropping to his knees in relief, Gaara desperately dunked both of his little hands into the cool, steadily flowing river, and scooped up the precious, life-saving liquid.

When that first taste of water slid down his dry and parched throat, Gaara let out a moan of pure ecstasy.

Water had never tasted so good in his life!

After that first taste of refreshing water, Gaara couldn't help himself…he bent over and dunked his entire head into the water, and began to drink as if there was no tomorrow.

Gaaara drank until his tummy felt as if it would explode, but he just ignored the feeling, and kept right on drinking.

It had been so long since he had had anything at all in his belly, and he wanted it to feel full again.

He started to think about the last time that he had eaten…it had been back at his home…the Hidden Sand Village…the night before his entire world had come crashing down around him.

He had been sitting around the dinner table with his niisan Kankurou, his neesan Temari, and his Jisan Yashamaru.

His Tousan, the Kazekage, wasn't there with them…but of course he never was.

They were all sitting down, waiting, as Temari shared out their dinner for them.

Even though she was only nine-years-old, Temari knew how to cook a good meal.

There was a huge bowl of hot, steaming rice, two big plates of mouth-watering fish, a big bowl of steamed vegetables, and Gaara's secret favourite desert…a delicious smelling cherry cheesecake with whipped cream and a cherry on top.

Temari had looked over at him and given him a little wink…she had baked the pie especially for him that night.

Kankurou, being the annoying niisan that he was, had reached over and tried to steal a piece of the pie when he thought that Temari wasn't looking.

He got caught though, as Temari quickly spun back around and smacked him upside his spiky, brown-haired head.

"Touch it Kani…and you die!" Temari had said, giving him a death glare.

"Damn it Tem!…why'd you have to go and do that for!…I was only going to take a little piece…it's not like I was going to take the entire pie…geez" Kankurou complained as he rubbed the back of his head, and glared back at his neesan.

"Ha!…knowing you Kankurou, you would have eaten half of the pie before I had even sat down…isn't that right Gaara?" Temari asked as she turned around to face him, adopting her classic 'yes-I'm-the-older-neesan-and-I'm-always-right' pose.

Gaara had looked from his neesan with her silly pose, to his niisan who was still rubbing the back of his head and grumbling about crazy girls, and their heavy fists, and finally to his Jisan Yashamaru, who had remained quiet throughout the entire episode, but who now looked over at Gaara and gave him one of his customary gentle smiles.

Gaara had looked at all of these people who surrounded him, then he had looked over at the photo of his Kaasan, and he had smiled one of his rare smiles.

It didn't matter that the world outside of his door hated him…that his Tousan was always busy and never home…he had these people right here, right now in his life…he had his own little family…and it made him feel whole…it made him feel as if he truly did have a place in this world, and that he wasn't just some monster like all the other kids and adults said he was.

Here…in the safety of his house…he felt happy…he felt safe…he felt loved.

Suddenly, a loud noise a short distance away from his resting spot snapped Gaara out of his memories, and he turned quickly in the direction of the sound.

All was quiet now…not a thing moved in the dark forest canopy…the only things that were moving were the leaves on the trees as a sudden, brisk wind blew through them.

Gaara slowly rose to his feet, wiping the excess water from his face, as he stared apprehensively into the forest.

Suddenly the sound came again, except now it was much, much closer…in fact it was much too close!

Gaara quickly turned around and made a mad dash across the shallow river to the other side.

He didn't stop to see if the thing that was making all of the noise was still behind him…he just ran as fast as his little legs would take him.

He knocked vines and branches out of his way as ran headlong through the forest, paying little attention to the sharp, pointy branches that would sometimes brush against his skin.

He couldn't get cut or scratched after all…his armor of sand saw to that.

Gaara continued his mad sprint through the forest for another ten minutes before his stomach suddenly cramped on him, and he had to slow down, finally coming to a complete stop.

Breathing heavily, his black-rimmed eyes opened wide in fright, Gaara looked back over his shoulder at the path he had just come through, straining to see in the darkness if there was anything following him.

He neither saw nor heard anything behind him, and after straining both his eyes and ears for a few minutes more, concluded that whoever or whatever it was that had been making all of the noise before, was now gone.

Breathing a deep sigh of relief, Gaara put his back against a tall, wide tree, and slowly slid down it's trunk until he rested on the soft, spongy ground beneath it.

His head hurt, and his stomach was aching after running so hard, and so fast when it was so full of water.

Wiping away some stray sweat from his forehead, Gaara closed his light, sea-green eyes, and thought about the very bad situation that he was in.

I can't keep on going like this…I'm tired…I'm weak…I…I'm all alone in this great big forest…I have no where to go…no where to turn…and there's no one who can or even would help me now…I killed my Jisan Yashamaru…my Tousan is trying to kill me…my Kaasan probably really did…(sob)…hate me…Temari and Kankurou probably hate me now that I've taken both our Jisan and Kaasan away from them…why was I born into this world…(sob)…I didn't ask for any of this…I…I…just want to be like everyone else…a normal little boy…I…I…didn't want any of this to happen…oh Kaasan…Kaasan…why did you have to leave me…please back to me….I want…(sob)…I want you to come back to me…please Kaasan…please…

Then little Gaara lifted his head towards the now storm-cloud filled sky, and wailed out all of the hurt, pain, fear, and anger that he had bottled up deep inside of himself.

He vented and raged for a long time, ripping up the small area of forest that he was standing in with the destructive power of his sand.

However, after doing this for a while, Gaara just stopped…there was no point in doing it anymore…it just made him feel cold and dead inside.

Gaara dropped to his knees, and then let his head fall to his chest…and he stayed that way, even as the sky opened up, and huge raindrops began to fall and splash against his now heated skin.

"No one wants me" Gaara mumbled into his chest.

"They were right…they were all right…I'm nothing but a monster…I can't even end my own life because this stupid, cursed sand won't allow me to," Gaara laughed bitterly, as he picked up a broken piece of wood, and tried to stab himself in the arm with it.

Just as expected the wood was knocked aside as the sand protecting his arm rose up in defense, and pushed the offending object aside.

Gaara laughed bitterly again, and wiped some rainwater from his black-rimmed, tired eyes.

"Just great" Gaara continued to himself. "As if things weren't bad enough, now this stupid storm is going to make it even harder for me to escape…I'm going to have to hurry up and find some kind of shelter."

So getting slowly, and painfully to his feet, then swaying slightly as he began walking, Gaara continued to push his way through the forest.

The rain continued to come down heavily on Gaara's small frame…and every now and then a slight tremor would rock his exhausted body, as the many days of no food, little water, and even less rest, finally caught up with him.

Just taking a small breath of air into his lungs became a huge task as a sudden spasm of coughs began to rack his body.

Gaara's vision began to waver as the trees in the forest around him began to sway back and forth.

Gaara raised a hand to the Kanji sign on his forehead, and squeezed his eyes closed as a sudden pain began to fill his head. That's why he didn't see the forest floor come to a sudden and abrupt end…or the cliff that had been hidden by the trees.

Gaara only knew that something was seriously wrong when he went to take another step and encountered nothing but air.

Unable to stop himself, Gaara tumble off of the edge of the cliff, and began to slip and slide down the wet, and muddy cliff face.

He tumbled, and skidded all the way down, only stopping when he hit the muddy, twig and leaf-covered forest floor at the bottom of the cliff.

Gaara lay flat on his back, feeling dizzy and disoriented, watching the storm clouds above his head move away, and the rain slow to a light drizzle, then finally stop.

I'll just close my eyes and rest here for a little while…not too long…I have to keep going…but I have to rest too…just five minutes…I'll…just…rest…here…for…five minut…

Gaara never got a chance to finish that last thought, as his tired, and battered body finally gave out, and he passed out.

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From deep within Gaara's psyche…from the very depths of his soul…an even older, and more wicked soul awakened.

It's very presence caused many of the forest's night creatures, such as bats and owls, to take flight in sudden terror.

However, the malevolent being that inhabited Gaara's body, did not as yet have the power necessary to be able to break free and take over Gaara's body.

The little human body that it had been sealed into was still too young, and right now, far too weak for it to possess.

The evil sand demon named Shukaku…even though the very idea of it drove the demon mad with rage and blood lust…decided to let Gaara get away with sleeping this one time.

Shukaku could not take the chance of injuring the body any further that it already was.

So Shukaku went back to sleep…burrowing itself, once again, deep within Gaara's heart, body, and soul.

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Gaara awoke the next morning feeling more awake, alive, and rested than any other point in time in his life.

Stretching his small arms above his head, Gaara sat up…and came face to face with a small, pink-haired, green-eyed girl.

Giving a small, startled yelp, Gaara scrambled back a couple of feet away from the girl.

The little pink-haired girl didn't even flinch as she continued to stare at Gaara with intense curiosity.

She then slowly raised her hand from where it was resting against her side, and gently brushed aside a few stray locks of Gaara's fiery, red hair.

Gaara sat transfixed…he was completely unable to move…it was the first time in his entire life that someone around his age had voluntarily wanted to be near him like this.

Then in a soft, musical voice, the little girl asked, "Hey there…are you alright?…are you hurt anywhere?…because if you are, I can go to my village, and get someone to help you?"

Gaara didn't respond…he just quietly sat where was.

Seeing that the boy wasn't going to answer any of her questions, the little girl decided to take matters into her own hands.

Bending down until she was eye level with him, the little girl said, "hey there…don't worry about it…you can just wait right here, and I'll go back to the village, and get someone to help…I promise…I'll be right back."

With that said, the girl slowly rose to her feet, and prepared to leave…but before she ran off, she looked back towards Gaara, and gave him a bright smile.

"Oh, by the way, my name is Sakura…Haruna Sakura…please tell me what your name is."

"Gaara…" Gaara replied without thinking.

Then realizing that he had just given away his name to a total stranger…no matter how nice she seemed to be…Gaara slapped both of his hands over his mouth, and looked at Sakura with wide, startled eyes.

When Sakura saw Gaara's reaction, her bright, emerald-green eyes dimmed a little, and a strange feeling of sadness washed over her, but the smile on her face remained in place…she didn't want to scare Gaara anymore than she already had.

So Sakura instead reached into a little pocket of her dress, and pulled out a small, stuffed toy.

It was a little white rabbit, with little sea-green colored eyes, and a small, fluffy, white tail.

Walking back over to Gaara, Sakura hesitantly raised her hand to his face, then she gently removed one of his hands, and placed the small toy in his palm.

Then not waiting for any kind of reply from him, Sakura slowly backed away, and ran off in the direction of her home…the Hidden Leaf Village.

Gaara hadn't known what the girl was going to do when she had approached him, but he certainly hadn't expected her to give him some kind of toy.

Looking down at the little, white rabbit in his hand, then squeezing it gently into his fist, Gaara looked back out into the now sun-lit forest, and did something that he did very rarely indeed…he smiled…for he had just realized that he had just found something that had been missing from his life these last few days…hope…he had just found new hope.

To be continued…

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Translation Key

Kaasan - Mother

Tousan - Father

Jisan - Uncle

Neesan - Older Sister

Niisan - Older Brother

**A/N:** I hope that you all enjoyed this first chapter J I love the character of Gaara, and have always wondered what his life would have been like if he had been introduced to the other characters of Naruto a bit sooner in his life…then I thought to myself…why just wonder about it…create your own AU story about it…so that's just what I did J …I'm looking forward to writing much more for this story, and I hope that you will support me and let me know if you are enjoying it…domo arigato minna…thanks everyone J for taking the time to read this story.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer can be found in Chapter 1.**

**A/N:** Hey minna :-) I'm sorry that it took me so long to get this next chapter out, but I was finishing up a Tenchi Muyo story of mine. It's complete now, so I can fully concentrate on this Naruto story about one of my all-time favourite characters…Gaara-kun :-) I hope that you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it :-)

**A/N 2:** I would also like to say a special Thanks to these awesome people who took the time to leave me a review. You guys ROCK!

So-kun

ShadowFrights

Saikiyoumi

grilledjellyfish

Denisetheanimelover

Winter's Gal

Marysmary

Shukaka-chan

encyser

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Gaara's Hope

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Chapter 2:

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Gaara sat and watched the spot in the forest that the girl had disappeared into for another minute or two before a sudden thought occurred to him.

What am I doing!…Am I crazy!…I can't just sit around here waiting for that girl to bring back others from her village…I'm on the run!…I can't have any adults finding me…they'll be sure to send me back to the Kazekage…to my Tousan…I've got to leave now before she gets back!

With these thoughts swirling through his mind, Gaara slowly raised himself to his feet.

His body felt very stiff, and it barely cooperated with him as he took one step forward in the direction that the little girl had went.

However, before Gaara could take another step, another troubling thought occurred to him.

Where am I actually going to go? I don't have a home anymore…or a family…so what should I do? I can't keep running forever, because eventually those Sand nin that my Tousan sent are going to catch up with me…and then what's going to happen? I don't want to hurt anyone anymore…I don't ever want to see another's blood on my hands ever again…but I will probably have to fight back…I can't let them take me back to that place…that awful place full of death and lies that I used to call my home…and if it comes down to it…I will defend myself…or rather…this murderous sand that I have been cursed with will defend me…but this sand that protects me…no!…traps me!…scares me…it scares me so much…I never know what it might do next…who might be its next target…I have to find a way to control this sand…oh Kaasan…if only you were still here with me…if only you could help me right now…but I am truly on my own now, and I will just have to find a way to survive…Shimatta!…What should I do? Wait!…That girl!…Sakura…Haruno Sakura. She said that her village was just a little further up ahead through those trees. Well...I needed a place to hide. What better place to hide than a village full of people? I'm so small that I can probably blend right into the crowds without anyone noticing me. Hmm...I'll probably have to keep my head covered. My hair and this Kanji sign on my forehead will probably bring me too much unwanted attention…

At the thought of the Kanji sign, Gaara raised a slightly trembling hand, and gently touched the spot where the sign was.

Squeezing his sea-green eyes tightly closed for a second or two, Gaara quickly shook his head, dropped his hand back down to his side, and reopened his eyes.

Argghhh!…I don't have time for this!…I have to get going…I no longer have time to just sit around feeling sorry for myself…I have to be strong…I have to prove to myself that I can survive in this world that has completely turned against me!

With this final thought Gaara straightened his back, held his head up high to the sky, feeling the sun's welcome rays warming up his face, and resolutely stepped forward as he headed in the direction that Sakura had gone.

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About half an hour later, Gaara stepped out from behind the trunk of a tree, and was presented with a sight that left him speechless with awe. 

For there before him lay the absolutely biggest ninja village he had ever seen in his life!

The walls seemed to him like gigantic mountains, and the entire village was so huge that Gaara was unable to see where one end of the village started, and the other end finished.

His sandy, windy, and much smaller village didn't look anything like this.

In fact this hidden ninja village of Sakura's seemed like an overindulgent and extravagant waste of space.

Heh…I bet that all the ninja's in this village are fat and slow…it looks like they have life too good here…they have probably never had to deal with sand blowing so hard into their faces that it was actually slicing into their skin..…and they have probably never gone a day without food and water like I have for the last few days…speaking of which…I need to get through those gates and into that village as soon as I can…I'm sure that they have lots of food and water in there.

Having made up his mind, Gaara stepped back into the cover of trees, and carefully looked out as he tried to come up with a good plan for getting into the hidden ninja village.

The main gates were guarded by two burly, and well-muscled ninjas, their forehead protectors, the strong sunlight glinting off of the metal, displayed proudly on their heads.

In fact, now that Gaara had noticed it, everyone who was going either in or out of the gate had one of those protectors attached to some part of their body…unless they were little kids like himself being chaperoned by some adult.

Hmm…it seems that the only way that I'm going to get a chance to get into that village is with a group of those kids…they don't have protectors on so they can come and go as they please, but only if someone with a protector is with them. Now…how am I going to do this…I need some kind of distraction so that I can sneak up to some kids and their chaperone and pretend that I'm with them…I'll just have to be patient and wait for a good opportunity...

So Gaara stepped even further back into the trees, and waited for an opportunity to present itself.

The universe must have decided to give him a break from all of the trouble he had had to deal with over the last few days, because an answer to his dilemma came almost at once.

A semi large group of kids around his age were being led back up the path to the village by a young female nin.

The group of children all had various items in their hands. Some, like the little girls, had flowers, ribbons, and butterflies caught in small jars. Others, like the boys, had dirty hands, a couple of small kites, and one even had a strange looking puppy that sat perfectly balanced on its owner's head letting out happy little yips every couple of feet.

Gaara couldn't have asked for a better group to try to blend into. The female nin was busy talking to a young girl with bright, blue eyes, and long, blond hair, who was excitedly showing her sensei a string of flowers she had made into a crown.

As the group neared the section of trees that Gaara had hidden himself in, he quickly pulled up the little hood that was attached to his outfit, and waited tensely for the group to pass him by.

When they had, while keeping his head down, Gaara stealthily made his way out of the trees, and easily joined the back of the group of kids.

A couple of the kids looked back at him, but they quickly lost interest in him as they turned back to each other, laughing and joking about the great day that they had just had.

Gaara released a deep sigh of relief, and continued to follow the large group of kids and their sensei up the path towards the guards at the gate.

As they got closer and closer to those imposing village walls, and their stern-faced guards, Gaara began to sweat a little.

I hope that I can get away with this…I really don't want to get caught…

However, he needn't have worried, for the only thing that the guards did when the group finally got to the gate was to wave merrily at the kids, and give a pleasant hello to the female nin as they allowed the entire group to enter the gates of the village.

Gaara's heart had begun to pound fiercely, and his palms were covered in sweat as he realized with belated joy that he had made it past the gates, and he was now safely inside the ninja village.

Breathing another sigh of relief, and wiping his still damp palms against the sides of his clothes, Gaara quickly looked around for a hiding place.

Spotting what looked like a quiet and deserted alleyway, Gaara quickly broke off from the group of children, and hurriedly ducked into the alleyway.

He quickly darted behind a large, discarded box, and tried to calm his speeding heart by taking deep, cleansing breaths.

When he had managed to calm himself down enough, Gaara carefully stuck his head around the side of the box, and looked down the alleyway.

He didn't see anyone coming, but he could smell a variety of things in the air. Some made his mouth water with their delectable smells, while others made him wrinkle his nose in disgust.

Now that he was sure that he was relatively safe, Gaara pulled his head back around the side of the box, and deciding that it was big enough, crawled inside of it.

Once he was fully inside the box, and as comfortable as he could make himself on its coarse, hard surface, Gaara immediately began to think about his current situation.

I've finally found somewhere to hide from my Tousan's sand nin, but I'm still hungry, tired…and…so alone…oh Kaasan…what should I do now?

Gaara raised a small fist and wiped away a traitorous tear that had slid down his face.

By now half of the day had gone by, and even though he was still hungry, Gaara didn't have the energy to go out to look for food.

So he just lay down on the bottom of the box, closed his eyes, and just allowed his mind to drift. He wasn't asleep…no…he knew that he could never get away with that again…but he was in a kind of restive trance…one that he had developed over the years to try to replace his lost sleep. His body would relax completely and he would go into a kind of meditative state.

So Gaara closed his eyes…relaxed his mind and body…and just floated. He had no thoughts…he had no feelings…the thirst and intense hunger that he had been feeling before went completely away, and he went fully into his trance.

Gaara stayed in this meditative state for the rest of the day, and all through the night, and only stirred when the first light of the new day glanced off of a window pane near his box, and hit him right in the face.

Snapping his eyes open immediately, and feeling much better for the meditative rest that he had gotten, Gaara rose into a sitting position, and stretched his body out.

A sudden whiff of something good cooking floated by his nose, and made Gaara's mouth begin to water.

Gaara then clutched his stomach tightly as it suddenly cramped, and the hunger that he had ignored the day before caught up to him with a vengeance.

Shimatta! If I don't go out and find something to eat right now I swear that I'm going to pass out…I'd better hurry up and go get some food.

With this final thought Gaara weakly crawled out of the box that was quickly becoming his new home, and got slowly to his feet.

When he was fully on his feet, Gaara moved to the side of the box, and looked around it to the alleyway, and then to the street beyond it.

He could see some activity happening up on the street before him. There were people walking and talking with each other. A couple of people rode past on their bicycles. One man was even enjoying what looked like a hot and delicious bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. This caused Gaara's stomach to cramp even more in hunger pain.

So with a quick surge of desperate energy, Gaara pushed himself away from the box, and made his way to the entrance of the alley.

There wasn't anyone passing by when he got there, so Gaara was able to slip out unnoticed from the alleyway.

Gaara now stood in the middle of a cobblestone-lined street, with windows to what must have been apartments, covering the sides of the two buildings he now stood between.

Gaara looked up and around himself with the same kind of awe tinged with resentment that he had felt when he had seen the hidden ninja village for the first time.

He continued to check out the place that he had stepped out into until he heard someone shouting something behind him.

Whirling around quickly, Gaara had just enough time to jump to the side, and flatten his body against one of the buildings, before he was almost run over by some crazy guy on a bicycle.

The man turned his head and yelled back a quick apology, before turning back around, and continuing to pedal at a break-neck speed to whatever destination he was obviously late for.

Gaara peeled his body away from the wall, scowled at the man's quickly disappearing back, and then stuck his middle finger up in a rude gesture that he had seen Kankurou use many times before.

Then Gaara's stomach cramped again, and he was unpleasantly reminded about his desperate search for food.

Quickly looking around for anymore homicidal bike riders and finding none, Gaara carefully pulled his hood up and over his head, and made his way to the entrance of the street.

When he got there, Gaara was surprised to find the streets were alive with people. There were men, women, children, pets, food stalls, and restaurants all over the place.

Kuso! How am I going to get any food with so many people walking around? I don't have any money on me, so I'm going to have to try to take something from one of those food stalls without anyone seeing me…I know that Temari wouldn't approve of my stealing from someone else…but this is an emergency! I've got to get something to eat right now!

Gaara's stomach cramped uncomfortably again, and he desperately looked up and down the street for a food stall that was relatively empty.

He spotted one, and it was a fresh fruit stall filled with ripe apples, oranges, grapes, and other assorted, mouth-watering fruit.

Quickly looking around to make sure that no one was watching him, Gaara stealthily left his hiding spot, and made his way over to the fruit stall.

When he got there, Gaara saw that the stall was practically overflowing with ripe and delicious-looking fruit.

In fact, the stall was so big, that the only fruit that Gaara could reach were the bright red, juicy-looking apples.

Gaara's mouth began to water, and before his food-depraved mind could stop him, his hand had shot out and grabbed one of the juicy apples. He then proceeded to devour the apple, enjoying it one scrumptious bite at a time.

Gaara didn't even realize what he had done until the entire apple was gone. He then wiped the juice that had gotten all over his face off with his sleeve and patted his stomach in pure pleasure.

Ahhh…that apple was so delicious…I didn't even realize that I had taken it until it was almost all gone…ahhh…I've got to get another one right n…oh kuso!…I forgot all about the stall owner!

Gaara had seen a big shadow covering him, so he had looked up, and he was now facing the fruit stall's very unhappy owner.

"Son, do you have any money to pay for that apple that you just ate," the man asked as he continued to stare down disapprovingly at Gaara.

Gaara looked up at the man and felt a bead of sweat trickle down the side of his face.

_Kuso, kuso, kuso! How do I get myself out of this mess?_ Gaara asked himself as he continued to look up at the man whose face was moving swiftly away from disapproval into anger.

"Listen kid! If you don't have the money to pay for my apple perhaps your Tousan or Kaasan do…and I'm sure that they would just **_love _**to hear what their little boy has been up to…so spill it kid…where are they?"

Gaara didn't answer the man as he was too busy scanning the street for a quick escape route.

"Hey kid! Are you listening to me! I'm asking you a question here!" The man went to grab Gaara so that he could shake some answers out of him, but Gaara was much too fast for him.

Just as the stall owner's fingers were about to grab onto the collar of Gaara's outfit, Gaara quickly twisted to the side, and made good his escape.

Then as Gaara was running down the street as fast as his little legs could carry him, he heard the stall owner yelling after him.

"Hey you! Stop! You had better stop** right now **before I call the security nins on you! Do you hear me! I said to stop NOW!"

Gaara didn't stop…nor did he look back to see if the man had really called the security nins on him. He was too busy concentrating on escaping. In fact he was so busy concentrating that when he rounded the next street corner he didn't see the other person coming from the other side and ran right into them.

There was a loud (SMACK!) and Gaara and the other person both went flying back into the street.

Then getting up very slowly, trying to get the world around him to stand still, Gaara looked over at the person that he had run into.

The person was a kid around his age, with bright, spiky blond hair, and brilliantly blue eyes that were now narrowed at him in annoyance.

"Hey, hey! Why don't you look where your going, huh!" the kid exclaimed as he slowly got to his feet. "Oh well…it doesn't matter. My head is pretty tough anyway. It can take a little knocking around. Here…let me give you a hand up," the blond-haired kid said, a bright smile lighting up his face as he held out his hand to Gaara.

Gaara looked at the kid's hand, then he looked back down at the ground. He wasn't sure whether or not he should take the hand that was probably being offered to him in friendship.

Gaara looked down at his own hand, and then he suddenly remembered the little pink-haired girl, and the gift of the little white rabbit that she had given him.

Then looking back up at the still-smiling face of the young boy before him, Gaara made his decision.

Gaara hesitantly reached for the other kid's hand, grabbed it, and then held on to it tightly.

The other boy grinned happily as he pulled Gaara to his feet.

When they were both standing up straight, and fully facing each other, the other boy slapped Gaara on his back and introduced himself.

"The name's Naruto! Uzumaki Naruto! What's your name?" the boy named Naruto asked excitedly.

Gaara looked at the boy for a couple of seconds before replying softly, "Gaara…my name is Gaara."

"Well Gaara…you and I are going to be great friends!" Naruto exclaimed as he slung an arm around Gaara's neck.

"Yeah…great friends," Gaara replied dolefully, as he was bodily dragged down the street by Naruto.

Gaara then reached into the pocket of his pants and brushed his fingers against the soft, furry surface of the toy rabbit that Sakura had given him.

_Yeah…great friends, _Gaara thought to himself, as the beginnings of one of his rare smiles slowly began to spread across his face.

* * *

_To be continued…_ _

* * *

_**Translation Key:**

Kuso - means about the same as (Chikuso) but not as strong

Chikuso - shit (a rather high level!)

Shimatta - damn it:-)

**A/N:** I really hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review. I would love to know what you all thought. Thanks everyone…Domo arigato minna :-)


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